Chapter Seventeen
Ryan stood inside the front office, watching as Kate climbed out of the Lamars’ gray rented Lexus. Gary drove off, leaving her standing there in black leggings and a jacket. Dressed to climb. He’d hardly been able to believe his ears when she’d called to ask if he could fit her in for a lesson this morning. After the way they’d left things the other night, he’d never expected to hear from either one of them again.
Ryan picked up the bag with their gear and stepped outside. “Good morning, Kate.”
She met his gaze, her gray eyes steady and flat. “Good morning, Ryan.”
Since she didn’t seem eager to rehash their argument—or to apologize—he decided to stick strictly to business. He wanted her to have a good time on the rock, but he was done trying to forge a relationship with her. “Great morning for a climb.”
“Yes,” she said. “It is.”
“Right, then. Let’s get going.” He led the way down the path into the woods with Kate beside him. The morning was brisk and alive with spring, birds twittering and squirrels leaping from branch to branch overhead.
“It’s really peaceful out here,” she said after they’d walked in silence for a few minutes.
“Yeah. There’s really nothing quite like it.”
“I’ve never climbed outdoors.”
“You’re in for a treat then. This is a whole different ballgame than an indoor wall. A bit trickier, but so much more worth it. When you get to the top, you get to look out over the forest, not down at the gym floor.”
“I think I’ll like that,” she said with a hint of a smile.
They arrived at the rock face, and Ryan was encouraged by the excitement on her face. He opened his bag and helped her get geared up in the harness and helmet. They didn’t talk about anything other than the business at hand while she started to climb. The rock intimidated her at first. He could tell. Her movements were timid and stiff, and she fell several times before she made any progress.
But after a little while, her prior experience seemed to come back to her, and she began to climb with more confidence. She had an advantage over Emma during her first lesson in that Kate already knew how to keep her weight in her feet and her body flush with the rock, thanks to her time spent on the indoor climbing wall.
Forty-five minutes after she’d started, she climbed over the top.
“Wow,” she said as she stared out over the landscape before her.
Ryan stayed put at the bottom of the rock, one hand on the belay rope, and let her enjoy the moment. She sat up there for several minutes, her expression quiet and pensive. When she looked down at him, she looked like she had something to say.
He just wasn’t sure he wanted to hear it. “Something else up there, isn’t it?”
“It sure is.”
“I’ve climbed indoors, too, but it just isn’t the same once you’ve done this,” he said, raising his voice slightly to carry to her thirty feet above his head.
“No, I don’t imagine it would be.”
“The view from up there gets in your blood. Nothing else will do,” he said.
“Ryan—”
“Yes, ma’am?”
“You’ve done your best. I know that.” She stared out at the treetops behind him.
He didn’t say a word, had nothing left to say on this topic.
“And so have I. I’ve always tried to do what’s best for Trent.”
Ryan was silent for a long moment, but his tongue finally got the better of him. “You ever consider that the best thing for Trent might be getting to know his brother?”
“No,” she said faintly, the word almost lost in the chasm between them. “But maybe I should have.”
* * *
